‘It’s important to recognize the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy’

By Rick Garrick

THUNDER BAY – The Honouring Mothers Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day 10th Annual Mini Pow Wow featured a Moment of Reflection, free lunch, giveaways and a special dancing out event.

“It’s important to recognize the day to help women to understand the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy and to help prevent children from being damaged due to exposure to alcohol in utero but also for everybody in the community, like the partners and other family members to support the women to abstain from alcohol during those important nine months of pregnancy,” says Lynda Banning, Anishinabek Nation’s FASD regional program worker for Northern Superior, noting that the Moment of Reflection is held on the ninth minute of the ninth hour of the ninth day of the ninth month. “We call it Honouring Mothers because we like to honour all mothers and motherhood and that special connection mothers have to the spirit world and to bringing the spirit into this world, giving life and all of the people that support her in that process.”

Banning adds that the Thunder Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre (TBIFC) donated about 30 pieces of regalia to families whose children didn’t have regalia for the Mini Pow Wow.

“We did the giveaway last night so they could bring (the regalia) today,” says Kylie Marion, Aboriginal family support worker with the TBIFC. “They are super excited to have their regalia and being able to dance in an outfit today. Parents were very appreciative that we were giving them away. Lots of them were asking what the cost of it was and they were very happy when we told them they were completely free. We just wanted them to have fun and get into the Pow Wow.”

Northern Superior Region Deputy Grand Council Chief Ed Wawia says it is important to educate pregnant women to avoid alcohol in order to prevent FASD.

“There are four different effects it has on the children,” Wawia says. “It could be physical effects or it could be neurological effects. The worst part is there is no cure for it — there is treatment, you can treat the children to have as good of a life as possible, but it is non-reversible.”

David Jones, a Garden River citizen and founder of Turtle Concepts, says FASD affects people throughout the world as well as North America’s Indigenous people.

“I think it is important to celebrate that they are still good people, they still have abilities and we want to support them in their journey and learn how to work with that and how to let them have that Bimaadiziwin that we speak about,” Jones says. “I am just so glad to see so many people out and to see the little ones dancing and doing what we do to celebrate life, and just smiling and connecting. That’s what I came to do, just to connect with some people and this was a great opportunity to connect with Thunder Bay friends.”

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler says it is important to support the work that organizations are doing to create awareness about FASD and to create supports for families that live with FASD.

“We can prevent this in our communities and it is so important that we create that awareness out there that this is preventable and that we all have a role in that,” Fiddler says.

The Mini Pow Wow was held at Current River Park on the north side of Thunder Bay with Thunder Spirit as the host drum and Fox Island as the co-host drum.